W&L Professor's Memoir Nominated for Library of Virginia Award
Washington and Lee English professor Jasmin Darznik’s celebrated memoir, “The Good Daughter,” is a candidate for the Library of Virginia’s People’s Choice Award for Nonfiction.
And even more recently, she received word that the book is on the short list for the 2012 Saroyan Prize for Nonfiction, too. That award is intended to encourage new or emerging writers and honor the Saroyan literary legacy of originality, vitality and stylistic innovation. The Saroyan Prize recognizes newly published works of both fiction and non-fiction.
“The Good Daughter: A Memoir of My Mother’s Hidden Life” is Jasmin’s first book and was a New York Times bestseller. Recently out in paperback, it will be published in 13 countries.
The memoir tells the story of Jasmin’s mother’s past and the sister who kept the secret from her. Jasmin’s writing has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle and other publications. She has received awards and distinctions from the San Francisco Foundation, Marin Arts Council, Steinbeck Fellows Program, Zoetrope: All-Story, Iowa Review, Norman Mailer Colony, Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference and the Corporation of Yaddo.
As a 2011-2012 fellow at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, Jasmin is at work on a novel set in 1960s Iran.
You can vote for Jasmin’s book on the Library of Virginia website or at your local public library. Voting ends on June 29.
The 15th Annual Literary Awards Celebration will be held Saturday, Oct. 20, at the Library of Virginia, in Richmond.
Washington and Lee authors have won this award in two of the last three years. Julie Campbell, associate director of communications and public affairs, won last year for “The Horse in Virginia: An Illustrated History,” while Roger Mudd, a 1950 graduate of the University, won in 2009 for “The Place to Be: Washington, CBS, and the Glory Days of Television News.”
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